Chapter 109 : Chapter 109

Chapter 109. The Finals Begin!

On the final morning before the championship match—

【Ding! Congratulations, Host. Your realm has reached the ‘Ninth Level of the Seventh Realm.’】

The system’s voice made Jiang Yichen slowly open his eyes from sleep.

He lazed in bed for a while before rubbing his bleary eyes and sitting up, not feeling the slightest bit of tension before the finals.

“At the peak of the Martial King realm already. My cultivation really is rising fast.”

Jiang Yichen could not help but marvel.

In this era, those at the peak of the Martial King realm were basically all people who had survived from the age of the Great Cataclysm.

Yet he, a rising talent of the new generation, had walked the martial path they had spent a century traversing in the space of just two months.

It was so fast that it was downright outrageous.

“Not bad. I’ve skipped a hundred years of needless detours.”

Jiang Yichen smiled.

Then he sat cross-legged and began to sense the changes in his body.

The so-called seventh realm, Martial King, meant that one punch could level a mountain and one kick could split the earth.

In battle, depending on one’s martial talent, one could form an area domain with different effects, such as Uncle Feng’s gravity domain.

This realm was different from the sixth realm, Great Grandmaster. A Martial King could borrow the power of heaven and earth and gain far stronger support in combat.

Most importantly, the lifespan of a peak Martial King could reach two hundred years.

Jiang Yichen smiled faintly.

That meant he could slack off for another two hundred years. Wonderful.

“At this rate, reaching the eighth rank, Martial Emperor, should only take another five or six days. By then, it should be about time for the academy’s military district internship.”

“Joining the military...”

Jiang Yichen looked troubled.

He had suffered enough in the military in his previous life. He truly did not want to go again.

“After the finals are over, I’ll have Mom think of a solution. If I can avoid going, then I will.”

After getting up and washing, Jiang Yichen ate the loving breakfast Su Linyu had prepared for him in the living room before leisurely heading to the training base for a quick round.

He was the boss, after all. Slacking off was one thing, but he still had to handle the things that fell within his responsibilities.

With his hands behind his back, he walked through the training ground. When he saw the Spark Team diligently basking in the sun, he nodded slightly.

It was the sort of gratification a leader felt when seeing his subordinates working very hard.

“Boss.”

Just as Jiang Yichen finished making his rounds and was about to leave, Lei Zhen suddenly walked over, his eyes full of curiosity.

“What is it?”

“Boss, lately I’ve had the feeling that I’m about to break through, but I just can’t seize that final opportunity.”

Lei Zhen sighed. “I heard Elder Feng is a seventh-realm Martial King. Could I exchange some pointers with him?”

A breakthrough?

Jiang Yichen pondered for a moment, and then a sudden idea flashed through his mind.

In his previous life, in order to help the Yanhuang Team win the championship, he had studied the league rules very thoroughly.

One loophole was the lack of any upper limit on weapon rank. Another was that while the rules prohibited seventh-realm martial artists and above from competing, they said nothing about what would happen if someone broke through to the seventh realm during the match.

If Lei Zhen were to break through to the seventh realm, Martial King, right there in the finals, would that not make the match even more interesting?

A smile curved Jiang Yichen’s lips as he recalled Bai Ze’s second skill, Auspicious Blessing, which could grant a martial artist extraordinary luck.

Helping Lei Zhen seize the opportunity for a breakthrough should not be a problem.

“Give me your hand,” he said in the tone of an enlightened master.

Lei Zhen froze, then instinctively raised his mechanical arm.

“...”

Jiang Yichen pressed a hand down. “Your left hand.”

“Oh, right.”

Lei Zhen hurriedly raised his left hand.

Jiang Yichen placed two fingers on his pulse. Inside the Pet Space, Xiao Bai immediately exerted its strength, turning auspicious seven-colored spiritual energy into a stream that entered Lei Zhen’s body.

Then Jiang Yichen used the power of space to temporarily seal the effect of Auspicious Blessing inside Lei Zhen’s body.

He wanted Lei Zhen to break through in the arena. If he broke through now, he would not be able to participate in the finals.

“Boss, what exactly are you doing?” Lei Zhen asked, completely baffled.

Jiang Yichen slowly withdrew his hand and smiled. “You’ll break through tomorrow.”

???

Lei Zhen was full of question marks.

Since when could breakthroughs be predicted down to the day?

Breaking through to the seventh realm was different from the sixth, which could be achieved with pills.

The seventh realm required one to comprehend the power of heaven and earth. If one failed to comprehend it, one would never set foot in the Martial King realm.

The time needed for such comprehension varied from person to person. Not even the Huaxia Martial System Research Institute could determine an exact time.

“What? You don’t believe me?”

Lei Zhen gave an awkward smile and shook his head. “No, no. I believe you, Boss.”

Jiang Yichen did not explain further. Instead, his gaze fell on Lei Zhen’s right hand, which was covered by a black glove, and he casually changed the subject.

“Lei Zhen, if your arm were restored, what would you want to do?”

He still had not used the Spring of Life before. It would be perfect to give it to him as a reward after tomorrow’s victory in the finals.

“Huh?”

Lei Zhen instinctively looked at his right hand, and a trace of desolation flickered through his eyes.

“Boss, this hand of mine can’t be restored. In the future, staying with the Spark Team and serving as an instructor would be good enough.”

Jiang Yichen asked, “What if it really could?”

Lei Zhen’s eyes widened slightly.

He fell silent for a long while before finally speaking in a resolute voice, “I would return to the military district and guard the frontier!”

Jiang Yichen’s expression shifted slightly, and the corners of his lips rose. “Why?”

“My hometown was on the East China border, and it was attacked by demon beasts all year round. It was destroyed during one Beast Tide, and I was rescued by the East China Army. When I saw more than ten of them die just to save me alone, I made up my mind back then that when I grew up, I would become like them and protect people as weak as I had been at that time.”

Lei Zhen’s voice rang with force and conviction. Tears shimmered faintly at the corners of his eyes, and then he added with deep regret, “Unfortunately, a demon beast bit off my arm, and I was forced to retire from the military.”

“The moment I took off that uniform, I, a grown man who had never feared a Beast Tide pressing down on us, was truly afraid for the first time. But there was nothing I could do.”

As he spoke, he seemed to struggle to keep his emotions in check.

He hurriedly wiped at the corners of his eyes and gave an honest, embarrassed smile. “I must have made a fool of myself in front of you, Boss.”

Jiang Yichen patted him on the shoulder.

“After the finals, I’ll give you a gift. Take it as a reward for the four years you followed me and won countless honors for me.”

A gift?

Curiosity filled Lei Zhen’s eyes. “What gift, Boss?”

“Secret.”

Jiang Yichen smiled mysteriously, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned to walk toward the administration building.

Lei Zhen looked at his boss’s retreating figure and said helplessly, “People from the military are more straightforward. People out in society always like to be mysterious and talk in circles. It’s no fun at all.”

He shook his head, returned to his reclining chair, and continued cultivating.

...

The next morning, the finals of the 30th Huaxia Team League officially began.

Jiang Yichen had risen rather early as well and personally brought the Spark Team to the finals venue.

“Brother Yichen, Auntie told me yesterday that she’ll be coming too, and she’s even going to record it for Uncle to watch.”

“We’ll definitely do our best and put on a wonderful match so Uncle will look at you in a whole new light, Brother Yichen.”

Dressed in the Spark Team uniform, Su Linyu walked at his side, full of energy as she spoke.

Jiang Yichen smiled warmly.

This girl always liked to think from his perspective.

His spiritual perception enveloped the entire arena. It could be said that this year’s finals were grander than any before.

All five top families had come, along with the senior figures of some first-rate families, all seated in the audience and waiting.

“With you all sounding this confident, I can rest easy as the boss,” he said with a smile.

“Of course we’re confident.” Tang Long’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Right, Hero Chu?”

Chu Xingchen shot him a look and rested a hand on the sword at his waist. “As long as I’m here, I won’t let you lose.”

Lei Zhen and Sleep God were comparatively modest, lacking the sharp youthful spirit of the others.

Jiang Yichen nodded and extended his hand. “Final battle. Let’s do this.”

Su Linyu was the first to place her hand on the back of his.

The other four quickly followed.

Su Linyu raised her left fist and flashed a sweet smile. “Spark Team, charge!”